Back and forth
by Swetlana
Summary: Nick decided to go ahead and translate back to his world without telling anyone and so Luciano has to go back to his world to save everyone else. After Arianna having his triplets in Talia!
1. Proloque

**This story has been posted before by meals and she have given the story to me, so I'm going to continue it.**

**Disclaimer****: Every thing you recognise from the books is the property of Mary Hoffman. The first seven chapter and the prologue are also not mine, but from meals.**

**Claimer****: Chapter 8 and every chapter that follows are mine.**

**Prologue**

Nick Duke woke in the middle of the night to hear something moving downstairs. He cautiously unwound his arms from around Georgia and slipped out of bed.

He walked over to the door with his heart beating so loudly in his chest that it was a wonder no one else could hear it.

On the balls of his feet he slipped from his room and moved to the staircase, unconsciously displaying his athleticism with his sinuous walk.

When he was downstairs he silently picked up a candlestick and moved towards the room that he had heard the noise in.

The light was on and he couldn't hear anything.

He moved into the doorway carefully and stopped suddenly.

Sitting on the yellow and red sofa was his foster mum, Vicky Mulholland. She had her back to him so he didn't notice immediately that she was crying.

In fact, it was only until she started sobbing that he realised, but when he did he immediately noticed her shoulders were shaking.

He walked into the kitchen to grab her a glass of water and a napkin - putting down the candlestick on the way - and wondered why she was crying.

When he went back only two minutes later though, someone else was there.

David Mulholland, Nicks foster dad, was sitting next to Vicky on the couch, his shoulders shaking in time to hers.

Nick stopped short. What was going on?

At that moment the two moved apart slightly and Nick saw the object sitting on their laps. The object that had them both crying terribly.

Nick turned and fled back to his room, leaving the glass and napkin on a table nearby.

Back in his room Nick sat on the floor and thought.

He owed the Mulhollands everything in this world - they had taken him in and treated him like their own, they had paid for the cost of his legs to be redone, they had helped him forget his old life and to not miss it.

He had thought that they were happier now - when he first arrived they were both still half mad over the death of their son, Lucien (also known as Luciano, depending on which world you came from) and he'd thought he had helped them get over it.

Giving what he'd just seen he was wrong. Obviously if they were crying together over the picture of their son he was wrong.

So what could he do to repay them back for the kindness they'd showed him? What could he do to make their pain easier?

He couldn't think of an answer for either of those questions, so troubled he went to bed.

But as he lay in semi-consciousness a half formed thought came to him, the one thing that could answer both his questions and the way to do it.


	2. Chapter 1

**Chapter one**

Luciano stood on a mandola in the middle of the main canal in his city, Bellezza. His hair was ruffling in the wind and he wore a smile on his face.

He was going to visit his foster parents, the Dottore - Doctor Dethridge in 21st century England - and his wife, Leonora, and to take them news of his newborn triplets and Luciano's own wife, Arianna, Duchessa of Bellezza.

His private mandola stopped and he hopped out and walked through the stone archway, past the fountain and rose garden, calling their names as he went.

With a flutter, his aunt-in-law Leonora appeared and walked quickly towards him, questions in her eyes and a smile of welcome on her mouth.

"Luciano, dear, how lovely to see you." She beamed.

"Leonora, how are you?" Luciano replied, grinning back.

"Ah, well, as always my back hurts because of the work I do all day, but apart from that I am quite well.

How are the little ones? And my niece?" She questioned right back, adding as an afterthought, "and yourself, of course?"

Luciano smiled "Arianna is much the same, unable to stop smiling and playing with the babies all the time she has free. The babies themselves are fine, almost completely of milk. Can you believe that they're almost a year old now? It seems like yesterday we were waiting for them -"

At that moment Dethridge came out the house, his face drawn with worry, "Master Lucien, we moste go backe emmedietely, Aye juste receivede ane urgente messayge frome Master Rodolfe telling us to gowe backe immediately."

With that he took Luciano's arm and swept from the garden, onto the mandola and, giving swift instructions to the mandolier to take them to the Palazzo of the Duchessa, to the west wing, where Rodolfo was waiting for them, settled into deep thought.

The mandolier, sensing the urgency, rowed swiftly along the canal to the Palazzo.

Luciano and the Dottorre hopped off and turned to find Rodolfo standing with one of the people that they had thought they'd never see again. Nick Duke.

. .

When Georgia woke she could feel Nicks arms around her, one of his thumbs was on her face, the rest of that hand under her head. She couldn't help but to lean into his hand.

The fact that there was no response meant that Nick was still asleep, which was strange because it was past 10 and Nick was normally up by 8.

She leaned out of his embrace, climbed out of bed and turned to face him, "Nick," she whispered, turning his face towards her. His hand came up and held her hand to his face. But it did not signify that he was awake, in fact it oddly reminded her of the time that Matt, the last Stravagante, had been stuck in the other world and his girlfriend, Ayesha, had gone to his house.

He had put his arm round her in exactly the same way when she lay down next to him - sort of automatically but semi-consciously.

With a jolt Georgia saw the black-blue quill in Nicks hand and knew what was wrong. She grabbed her mobile of the desk in his room and dialled 2 numbers. Then she sat down to wait.

One question rang through her head again and again - Why was Nick still in Talia?

. .

Rodolfo led the way to one of the Duchessa's private chambers with Nick, Dethridge and Luciano trailing behind, the two latter shooting odd glances at the former.

When they arrived Rodolfo ordered the guards away and all four entered.

In the room were : Arianna

Sulien - a stravagante from Giglia

and Constantin - the stravagante from Padavia.

Luciano smiled at Arianna and walked over to her side. She grinned back at him, and when he arrived by her side bent her head up for a kiss, which he gave her.

Luciano pulled back and gave her a small frown, which she correctly interpreted as ,"what are we doing here?" and she replied with a shrug.

Luciano turned and looked at Nick, who cleared his throat and started to speak, "As you can probably all guess you're here because of me. I am here because I needed to speak urgently to Luciano." He paused and shot a worried look at Luciano before continuing, "you are all going to think I've done something very stupid, but it all makes sense and I can not imagine any one of you doing differently if you were in my place. Rodolfo, Dottorre, please can you train your mirrors on my room in England."

Rodolfo and Dethridge both looked puzzled as they obliged but their looks changed to one of complete bewilderment as they looked at the scene.

In the mirror you could see Vicky Mulholland, Georgia, Sky, Alice, Matt, Ayesha, and David Mulholland standing or sitting-in the case of Vicky- round a bed that they could tell was Nicks.

Vicky, Georgia, Alice and Ayesha were crying and David and Sky's eyes were red. All the couples were standing together - Sky and Alice, Ayesha and Matt - and Georgia was in-between Alice and Ayesha, Alice with her arm around her waist and Ayesha holding her hand.

Vicky sat on the only chair, David behind her with his hands on her shoulders.

It was evening.

Everyone looked towards Nick for an explanation.

Nick took a big sigh and stepped forward into the sun for the first time.

His shadow swept across the middle of the room.

. .

Vicky was crying next to Nick. He had just been moved from their house to the hospital morgue. The doctors excuse for his death was overdose on sleeping pills, but they all knew the truth - Nick had translated back to Talia.

Vicky found herself in tears as she sat next to his body, surrounded by only the people Nick had truly loved in this world. As she cried she suddenly realised that she was crying for Luciano, not Nick. She was crying because she had got the idea that Nick really was another Luciano, and, like Luciano, Nick had left them for another world, if by his own choice instead of being ripped apart, and this made her longing for her son intensified.

They sat like that for a long time, occasionally talking, about funeral arrangement or why he would do this.

It was past midnight when the morgue door swung open and Alice, glancing up gave a choked cry.

Nick had just walked in, shadowless, and he was followed by none others than Rodolfo and Luciano, both of whom looked furious.

All three swept their gaze across the people and onto the corpse and all three flinched in unison, it would have been funny if not for the circumstances.

As they drew nearer they noticed Nicks face held no sorrow, only triumph, who knows why?

"I'm sorry everyone, I really am," Nick started, "We decided to explain here, as one, Rodolfo and Luciano don't know what I'm on about either." He was cut off by Georgia getting up, walking over to him and hugging him tightly.

"Did you miss your family too much?" She asked into his chest.

Nick put his arms around her and frowned, "That couldn't make me leave here," he replied, "the only thing that could make me leave here is if it was for the best of the 3 people I love the most here - Georgia, Vicky and David - and 2 out of those 3 it is for the best of. You can glare at me all you like Luciano but it will be the best for your parents in the end. Rodolfo, you lecture me first."

Rodolfo glared at Nick ," How dare you," he began, "I have already reached your conclusion and I can understand that it would be the best for these two, but what about Luciano, Arianna, Georgia and all your friend here. What about the face that Luciano's triplets are about to turn one?"

Nick looked shocked, "I didn't know he had kids, I knew this would be hard but he's done it before and he can do it again. The others can live without us."

"Without US?" Luciano asked. "Where do I come into this?"

Rodolfo shot him a look of pity, "The line between our 2 worlds isn't stable enough," he began, "its like it was when you first translated. And for everyone who is a Stravagante if it breaks they will die. The way we fixed it when you translated was by Nick translating to your world."

Lucianos face paled, "Someone's got to go to this world permanently." He stated.

Rodolfo nodded, "and the only two it could be are you and Dottorre."

"And Dottorre has a phobia of this world, cant speak properly and wouldn't understand anything." Nick finished.

"Hit me if you like," he added looking at Luciano's face ,"you've got to come back to this world Luciano."


	3. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

Arianna paced the room worriedly. For the first time in months her every thought was not filled with her children. Instead her husband occupied them.

Her mother, Silvia, got up and grabbed hold of her arm, stopping her pacing, "Stop it Arianna, they'll be fine." She assured her.

She was stopped from saying more by the appearance of Nick in the hall. He was bleeding heavily from the nose.

"Falco!" Called Arianna. "What happened? Did you get in a fight? Is Luciano okay?"

"Physically? Yeah he's fine. Yes I got in a fight, but it was with Luciano, he's-"

But what he was saying was stopped by his own appearance, storming through the door toward Nick.

"Luciano!" Rodolfo's voice rang after him. "Stop!"

As if by magic Luciano stopped in his tracks. In fact, it was magic, and although Rodolfo hated doing magic on Luciano he could see that it was necessary.

Every ones faces went from Luciano to Falco to Rodolfo and then back to Luciano.

"What is happening here?" Asked Arianna.

Luciano had stopped shaking with fury, he now looked defeated. He walked slowly to the wall and sank to the floor, dropping his head into his hands, "Explain Rodolfo!" He said, his voice muffled by his hands.

All heads turned to Rodolfo. His own face had pain on it, but they all knew it was for Luciano, not himself, "I'm not going to go into details but just tell you the fact and the only, and I mean only, way to stop it. Falco's translation has broken the gap between worlds beyond easy repair. If it breaks - as it would by only one person who truly belonged to this world went there, or if a person who truly belonged to that world came here - we would all die. By us I mean every Stravaganti in both worlds. The only way to stop it from happening is to either stop Stravagating - which is impossible because there are 2 talismans in that world at the current time - or if someone who belonged truly to the other world but had translated here went back for good. And the only 2 people who are like that are Dottore and Luciano.

It is impossible for the Dottore, so it stands to show that the only way to save all of us is to translate Luciano back."

Everyone was frozen. You could have heard a pin drop. You could almost hear peoples hearts beating.

"No!" Arianna said. "I won't let you!"

"You don't have a choice Arianna. Your going to lose Luciano either way. Would you rather him dead with the rest of us or keep the rest of us and him along way away?"

. .

Georgia, Alice, Sky and Matt were waiting with Vicky and David at the Mulhollands. Rodolfo had contacted them with mirrors to tell them that Luciano would be arriving that day.

Vicky and David were all but shaking with excitement, even though Rodolfo had warned them Luciano wouldn't be in a good mood for a while.

They knew some of which he was leaving : his wife, his kids, his city, his friends, etc. but they hoped he would get over it and lead a new life, even he couldn't forget them.

Vicky was thinking about her son, same as everyone else, remembering all the times they'd spent together : Venice in particular was a happy memory.

David was thinking about Venice too, how Lucien knew where to go about everything.

Georgia was in a turmoil : she knew she still loved Luciano, but she loved Nick too, and she had no idea what to do. That decision I have time to make she reminded herself he's going to need time to get over Arianna.

Matt and Sky were thinking about the day that the head had told them Lucien had died, and how it was when they'd re-met him.

Alice was thinking along the same lines as Georgia, except for her friend, not herself.

The door slid open and Luciano walked in, holding a hand mirror and frowning. It was obvious he still knew the place well, as he knew exactly where to put his things and where every table and chair was.

He took his eyes of the mirror, stowed it away in his back pocket and said, "Hey, how long have you been waiting?"

"All day," Alice laughed. Before walking up to him and hugging him. "Blimey, I met you properly what, once and I've missed you like hell. What on earth are the others feeling!"

Lucien laughed, but his eyes held some of the misery that he had walked in the door with.

Sky opened the door to the sitting room and sat on a sofa, "This is goin' a be a long talk." He stated.

. .

Hours later the plan was to stay where they were for the time being, Luciano, Vicky and David moving when needed be.

The other lot went off together leaving Lucien with his parents. They all looked at each other, not talking.

The first one of them to move was Lucien, opening his arms to them. They both ran into them and all three spent the night like that, hugging and crying for everything they had lost and gained.

. .

Arianna rocked her three children in her arms. They were a year old today. Time to name them.

She thought of the people she loved the most. She thought of the people Luciano loved the most. She decided.

She bent low and whispered into the first babies ear, "I name you..."


	4. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

2 weeks later

Vicky Mulholland almost skipped out of her last class of the day. Only a 20 minute drive home and she'd be back with her son.

As she went past several people they gave her strange looks, this was because her adopted son had supposedly died 2 weeks ago, she almost laughed - her adopted son hadn't almost died and Lucien was back - no one on the earth was happier!

She turned a corner and nearly banged into Tom Prince, automatically pain ripped at her heart and shot across her face, the same happened to his. This was because Tom had been Lucien's best friend before he died.

She noticed that the pain had not left Toms face yet as he mumbled her name - first only, he had explained that as he had shared her last name it was just too difficult to say - and she felt a surge of pity for him. He was hurting, she wasn't, he was hurting unnecessarily.

It was at that second she decided to tell the world - or the school at least. She reached to her left and broke the fire alarm, setting off a shrill bell, and walked towards the fire exit, Tom and his other friends following, giving her weird looks.

. .

"Everyone from 6Th form down can leave!" Vicky started, and waited till they had done so before continuing, "As you might know I lost a son the other day. Nick was a great person. He is the main reason I'm alive right now. Without him I would have killed myself." A murmur rang through the crowd.

"I would have killed myself over the death of my first son, my true son, Lucien Mulholland. You 1st year university students will know him, as will upper 6th. Lower 6th might. But I didn't because of Nick. He has done so much for me. He got me over the death of my main son and... he brought my son back to me. He brought Lucien back from the dead!"

Silence followed her words. Several teachers began to work there way through the crowds towards her, worried expressions on there faces.

"Don't believe me?" Vicky yelled, "Ask them, ring my house and he'll pick up!" She pointed to Georgia, Sky and Matt standing at the edge of the crowd with there mouths open.

"Don't lock Vicky up in a loony bin," Matt said, "She's telling the truth. We'll call him here then explain. You can go if you want to." No one moved, they all held there breaths as Matt dialled a number.

"Matt?" A voice came from loudspeaker.

"Luciano, get here now, your mum told everyone and they all need an explanation or they'll lock her up in a loony bin." Matt reeled off before hanging up.

They settled down to wait.

. .

Luciano jumped into the Peugeot and drove away with his newly acquired driving skills. He dialled his dads number and quickly explained what had happened.

As he pulled into the school parking lot he saw the huge crowd waiting and groaned internally. He hated speaking to big crowds.

He moved quickly through the big crowd which parted to let him through but by the time he had walked the 20m through them the quiet whispers had turned into a loud buzzing of noise that hurt his ears.

Several people moved back from him like he carried a disease and he saw Matt, Sky, Georgia and Alice trying to fight there way through the crowd to the stage without much luck.

He ran the stairs to the small stage quickly and reached his mother who just grinned at him happily, the way she always did when she got home from work. He was conscious of the stares of the whole school on his back, along with the teachers and Matt, Sky and co. - they had stopped trying to get there by now.

"What did you tell them?" Lucien asked quietly.

"Just that you were back 'cause of Nick and that you would explain everything." Vicky grinned triumphantly.

Lucien thought for a minute then turned and beckoned to Matt, being the most popular out of the group they would most likely listen to him without making him an outcast.

He wove his way through the crowd up to Lucien and gave him a apologetic grimace, "Sorry Luciano, we didn't know what she was doing!"

"Its fine Matt, she's as stubborn as a mule." Lucien gave a short laugh, "And I'm Lucien now." He tacked on as an afterthought.

"Can you explain everything, I wouldn't be able to."

"Um mm. We'll do our best." Matt beckoned to the others who nearly sprinted to the stage.

Georgia was there first, and she leapt on Lucien with a hug and a kiss on the cheek.

Alice followed and released him after a brief hug.

Sky also hugged him, but it was a man hug, not a crazy hug like Georgia's.

Georgia turned to the front and the slow whispers that had been breaking out stopped completely.

"Okay, this is top secret alright. Seriously, what were about to tell you you can't tell anyone. It could cost lives!"

. .

After the story the whole place was quiet. No one moved, no one talked, allot of people were holding their breath.

"Ummm... someone's going to have to talk, your freaking me out." Alice said, and the crowd let out there breath as one.

The story had been told by the lot of them, Luciano chipping in every now and then on some of there mistakes.

"OMG! Is this like, a tv drama!" Someone screamed.

Some rough laughing followed this comment, but quite a few faces looked hopeful.

"Nope!" Matt said, popping the p. "Questions anyone?"

"Does anyone believe us?" Sky asked.

Silence. Silence. Silence.

Someone coughed in the back, "I might be able to offer an explanation. I believe you. All fits. But its so strange I just..."

Allot of people nodded.

Then someone got up onto the stage. It was Tom.

He looked at Lucien. Lucien looked at Tom.

"Tom?" Lucien whispered.

Tom just looked at him, then with a glad cry launched himself at Lucien. Wrapping him into a bear hug.

Everyone laughed. They believed.


	5. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

15 years later

Luciano ran into the house quickly. He was late.

His mother looked up from the sitting room and laughed at the expression on his face.

"Don't worry, she's not here yet. Looks like she's late too."

Luciano breathed a sigh of relief and dropped onto the sofa next to his mum.

Sky, Alice, Tom, Matt and Daniela came in from the kitchen, " Hey, I was wondering where you got to." Sky said.

"Thought you'd ran out on us!" Said Alice, laughing.

"Wouldn't be the first time." Muttered Tom under his breath, grinning.

Lucien punched him on the arm lightly and stuck out his tongue.

A car pulled into the driveway and the room fell quiet.

The tension grew as they heard the engine cut and footsteps walk up the gravel driveway to the front door.

The door swung open and Alice threw herself across the room at Georgia, "HAPPY BIRTHDAY!" She squealed, hugging her best friend tightly.

"Woah, slow down Alice!" Georgia laughed, hugging her back.

She looked around and then, still laughing went over to Sky and Matt, who were the next closest. They too received a hug followed by a hug to each Tom and Daniela and Vicky.

Then she sat on the sofa next to Lucien, hugging him and giving him a peck on the cheek.

The relationship the two had had had been very rocky. On and off, on and off. Georgia knowing that Lucien wasn't looking for a serious relationship, Lucien knowing that Georgia was.

All through the years that had passed since Luciens return Georgia had never been able to shake off the feeling that he was her one and only. But he had never been able to shake off the feeling that he'd left his one and only behind.

He never visited (he'd decided he wouldn't be able to come back) and his life on this world was so much easier after those first few weeks of everyone giving him funny looks.

If he ever saw him again he'd have to thank Rodolfo for wiping everyone's memory.

Georgia looked around happily at her birthday party, if you could call it that.

Sky and Matt were talking animatedly about football in one corner.

Alice and Daniela were talking to Lucien about art.

Vicky and David were watching Lucien as if he might disappear again (they never really had got over that).

At this point, the phone rang - it was Ayesha, calling to say happy birthday. This effectively broke up Matt and Sky's conversation, as Matt just stared at the phone from which his ex's voice was coming from.

About a month ago, Yesh had broken things up for good, on the grounds that there was someone else.

Not 10 minutes later Matt stood and excused himself, too the pitying glances of everyone, they all knew he still loved her.

He stood and walked towards the door, but before he reached it there was a faint knock.

Reaching out Matt opened the door, revealing the mystery guest.

Everyone gasped, then turned to look at Lucien, who had frozen in his place.


	6. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

"Hi," said the newcomer, "I'm Luciano. I'm looking for Luciano, is he here."

Lucien stood shakily, and looked at the 15 year old version of himself.

The two people were so similar (even with 18 years difference) that you could easily mistake them.

The young Lucien was more muscled then Lucien had been at that age and he was wearing kind of old fashioned clothes (still jeans but an older version of them and trainers, with a short sleeved t-shirt) and he looked out of place in them, as if he had only just started wearing them.

Lucien just looked at the boy for about 5 minutes before croaking, "Who are you?"

The boy looked back, "I'm your son."

The room froze.

Lucien's son.

His son.

HIS SON!

Lucien fell down onto the sofa and dropped his head into his hands.

Matt let the boy into the room.

"I'm not very good at explaining things." The boy began apologetically.

The door opened again and a girl bounced into the room. She was wearing skinny jeans and a floaty white

dress top, with a belt around her slim waist.

"Luciano!" She crowed. "I love it here. The people are so nice. I just met this girl in the street and she said that I could have her belt because I needed one. Isn't that nice?" Then the girl skidded to a halt, "Oh, you found them."

The girl had long, soft brown curls, which ringlet down to her waist.

Her big violet eyes didn't have a drop of makeup on and her creamy skin was also clear of it.

She was 2 things:

One - Stunningly beautiful. The kind of beautiful that stops traffic.

Two - A spitting image of Arianna.

Lucien looked at her for about 10 seconds before dropping his head into his hands again and groaning.

"Um, sis. Maybe you should explain this." Luciano stage whispered.

"Coward." She shot at him with a breathtaking grin before turning to Lucien.

"I'm Vicaela. That's the Talian name for Vicky." She shot a look at Vicky.

"Our full names are : Luciano Celestino Matteo Davide Crinamorte and Vicaela Giorgia Alechay Giuditta Crinamorte. We're your children."

You could have heard a pin drop.

"And the third?" Lucien asked.

"She - Silvia Maria Giullana Francisca Crinamorte - stayed at home with mum because mum likes her best." She pulled a face at Luciano Junior who returned it with a grin.

Vicky collapsed onto the sofa she had jumped up from at LJ's announcement without anyone noticing it. She put her head into her hands and moaned. David slung his arm round her shaking shoulders and squeezed but that was all the comfort she received.

Lucien looked at his two kids and felt satisfaction creeping through him. They were beautiful, and able to look after themselves, as well as having the air that Arianna's mum, Silvia, late Duchessa, had had - a kind of detached air that took everything in and fixed people's attention on them. Though that might just be the bombshell they'd just dropped.

Georgia took control, "Well then. That was interesting. Do you two want something to eat or drink?" She smiled sweetly at them but inside she was cursing at them for ruining her birthday. Which was unfair really seeing as she really hated their mother.

"Sheep-stomach pizza!" They chorused, laughing together before Vicaela winked at Matt, who grinned flirtatiously back.

"Well," Georgia began worriedly, shooting a glance at Alice that said OMG! They're mad! Alice giggled, then frowned as the expression changed to Not surprising with HER as their mother. After all these years she still hated Arianna.

"We don't usually have Haggis Pizza." Sky laughed.

"How's Nick?" Asked Georgia suddenly, wanting Lucien to feel just the tiniest bit jealous but the plan backfiring on herself as she watched his expression remain unchanged, and not even look shocked at the question.

"Nick?" Luciano questioned with a raised eyebrow, putting him a notch higher in David's book, as David had always wanted to be able to do that and never could.

Vicaela elbowed him, "Honestly! Don't you ever listen? Mum said that Nick was Falco! And in answer to your question - we don't see him. Ever. Mum hates him."

Matt and Sky exchanged incredulous glances.

Luciano caught them, "She has good reason too!" He fired at them in his mothers defence, with a stealthy glance at his father.

Vicky had stopped shaking enough to form the question that had been flickering through everyone's mind, but no one had asked it - "Why are you here?"

Again a sneaky look flickered between the 15 year olds, "Well," Vicaela started hesitantly before her brother cut in -

"Mum's getting re-married."

The consequent spasm of pain that jolted through Lucien was like nothing he'd ever felt before. He'd been ripped away from his life twice and lost the person he loved. He lived with the knowledge that the person he trusted the most in the world loved him and he would never return the feeling.

But seriously, he would do that a thousand times again if he never had to know that the woman he was still in love with loved someone else. More importantly that she had fallen out of love with him. Poor Georgia he thought.

And Georgia had felt exactly the same, but a millisecond after. Because even knowing Lucien hadn't loved her she could still lie that it wasn't Arianna. For some reason she couldn't stand it being Arianna.

And everyone in the room saw the jolts and pity washed through them.

"Let me explain!" Luciano continued hurriedly, worried that they wouldn't.

"Mum doesn't like him. He's forced her into it. He made it so it was either her or Vica (Vicaela's nickname)."

Pure bliss flew through Lucien, in the form of relief.

Agony ripped through Georgia as Lucien relaxed.

"So what are we meant to do?" Sky asked.


	7. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

Silvia laughed along with her mother, her eyes dancing and her teeth gleaming. Not for the first time Arianna thought how beautiful all her children were.

Luciano - just like his dad. Personality and looks wise.

Vicaela - Looked like her but was more like him.

Silvia - a perfect mix of looks. Curly black hair and huge gentle brown eyes. With Arianna's personality.

So pretty.

Automatically she looked around for her other two kids, expecting to find them laughing by the canals while shooting envious glances at them - completely ridiculous glances by the way as she didn't like Silvia more but Silvia was just such a reminder of the love she had for him. But they weren't there.

"Where are your brother and sister?" She asked Silvia.

Silvia paused - she couldn't tell her mum where they were because the whole plan was with them getting to the wedding.

"They're waiting there." She settled on - which was the truth really.

A hurt look flashed over Arianna's face. Arianna who used to be so strong. You can be strong before love. While during love. But not when you've know love and feel it but it is elsewhere. She acknowledged.

Nodding absentmindedly she plucked at the silver brocade dress she wore. The lace accentuated her figure that after all these years was still envied. The jewels made all the light in the room be sucked into her, making her float almost. But her eyes were dead.

Her marriage to him hadn't been like this. It had been simple yet sumptuous and her eyes had shone through every minute of it.

And now this man was forcing her to marry him. Because there was no question of poor Vica marrying someone so horrible. She could still fall in love.

Arianna didn't even notice the carriage ride or climbing out and walking toward the bridge where they were to be married that sunset.

_ di'Chimici smiled satisfied.

At his side was the still beautiful Duchessa of Belleza - which he was about to gain control over.

All he needed was for this stupid ceremony to be over.

"Dearly Beloved we are gathered here today to celebra - " The old, balding, stupid and bribed priest that was marrying was cut off as two figures burst through the door, briefly he wondered if this would knock money off the amount he was getting paid for marrying the Duchessa who already had a husband - albeit one who was missing - before realising that the two were the Duchessa's children - what was it... Vicaela and Luciano (why would the lady call the spitting image of her husband after him?).

"Sorry," whispered Vica pulling an apologetic face at the crowd and not replacing it with an evil smile till they'd turned back.

She discreetly high fived - or low fived - her brother as they sat in the back row.

"To celebrate," the priest continued, "The union of the Duchessa Arianna of Belezza and F_ di'Chimici. If anyone has a problem speak now with the words ,'I object'." The room swam with mental shouts of 'I object' but none came forth to say so

"In that case - " Again the door banged open.

"I OBJECT!" The newcomer said.

Everyone turned around and saw Luciano Crinamorte, Dukeconsort of the same Duchessa of Belleza who was now being married standing panting in the small church on the bridge.


	8. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

Lucien ran through the not very dense crowd to the church.

Briefly he wondered why there was a church on the bridge but he didn't really care about the church.

The rhythmic pounding of his feet made him slip into thought.

How he had missed Arianna. He could see her in his minds eye. Her violet eyes sparkled enticingly at him and she twirled her body away, the green dress she had worn the last time he saw her sparkling in the sun next to the lagoon. She laughed, her head thrown up and her teeth each perfect and white. His heart ached with pain at the loss and he moved faster.

Bang! He smashed into a man standing at the side, nearly knocking them both into the canal.

The man was bellezan, and probably quite well off seeing as he had the hand of fortune on a gold necklace hanging round his neck.

"Hey watch it!" He nearly yelled at Lucien. Then his face cleared and his eyes shone.

"Duke Luciano!" He breathed and he grinned, his yellow crooked teeth very different from the Arianna of his imagination.

"Hurry!" He ordered, pushing Luciano towards the church in desperation. "If you don't it'll be to late and we'll all be in the di'Chimici grasp."

His words spurred Lucien on and he could almost feel himself morphing from the man he had just been in England, in the 21st century, to Luciano Crinamorte, the love struck fool who was the Duke Consort of Duchessa Arianna of Belleza. His breathing fit his run and his hand was itching to reach for a sword and lop off whichever di'Chimici it was' head.

Never used to be so violent he laughed to himself.

Reaching the church he pushed open the doors and said the first thing that came into his head, "I OBJECT!"

In front of him the entire congregation turned and stared, but he didn't notice, his entire being was centred around the fact that Arianna was in front of him.

The real Arianna, not his imaginary ones.

It came rushing back in a second. He remembered how he used to be able to just stare at her for hours on end, how he ran to catch a glimpse of her from the windows, how he had always wondered how she fit so perfectly into his arms.

Without thinking about it he walked forward, not noticing the steadily growing louder whispering of the congregation.

He met Arianna half way and they were in each others arms, with her crying into his shoulder and him kissing her hair. They could have been apart for a day, a month, a year, but in reality it was 15.

Georgia pushed her way through the crowd around the church, anxious to see Lucien and at the same time dreading what she might.

The man who Lucien had bumped into earlier had been busy telling everyone how the young Cavaliere had returned, minutes before his wife re-married against her will.

As she made her way through, finding agility more useful then force, she heard a few wild theories flying round.

"He's a guardian angel!" A red haired woman with gaunt cheeks yelled.

"Rodolfo called him back from the dead!" Said another.

"That strange kid of his, Luciano Junior, has finally figured out how to change shapes!" Was another, this one from an old man.

They weren't actually that far off.

And then finally, dodging round two people with kids on their shoulders, she ran through the door that he'd left open.

Her heart did two things- both the opposite of each other :

Firstly, it broke. Shattered into a million tiny pieces. For the last time she'd loved Lucien it hadn't been real, and this time it was worse.

Secondly, the only thing keeping her from succumbing to the pain that was ripping and tearing through her, was happiness. He was happy, and he hadn't been with her.

She stood frozen in the doorway, her silhouette striking against the setting sun.

Then the fiancé stepped forward, his blade already drawn and a mingled look of pain, determination and - strangely, if you didn't know the story -regret.

"You shouldn't have come," whispered Falco di'Chimici, "Now I'll have to do something I don't want to do."


	9. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

Falco had never thought that things could go so wrong. He didn't want to hurt, let alone kill, Luciano, but now circumstances called for it.

Things that had led him into this mess started almost immediately after he translates back to his old world. No one in Belleza could tolerate his presence, which was understandable after all he did bereave Arianna from her husband and the others of the boy they saw as their own son.

But still he felt hurt by their cold demeanour and not for the first time realised that he was not and had never been really part of the Stravaganti. He had not been chosen to begin with and only because Luciano and Georgia translated him did he qualify as a Stravagante. Rodolfo had always been very clear about his thought on the subject and Falco could not help but feel a second rang Stravagante, he was not wanted.

So after he left Belleza he went to the only place was welcome: to Giglia and to his family. There he was welcomed with amazement and much surprise, but also a lot of joy.

The moment that he saw Gaetano again was indescribable and Falco stayed a long time with his brother and his wife to make up for on all the lost time.

The first few weeks were bliss, but after those weeks reality struck in and for the first time he fully realised that he was never going to see Georgia again. It was a blow that almost killed him.

He started to drink and enjoyed the oblivion and numbness that it brought, but it never lasted long enough. On the streets he started to recognise Georgia. He saw her in the flaming red hair of a merchants wife, the slim hips of a attractive girl or he would hear a voice in the crowd that seemed hers. But there was always the disappointment when he looked more closely at the woman or girl that had attracted his attention. Never when he heard her voice could he find her in the masses and every time it happened his heart broke a little further.

Eventually Gaetano pulled him out of his misery by locking all the liquor away and given him simple assignments to do. It distracted him and though he never fully forgot Georgia he wasn't overcome by his grief.

But he never married nor had a long term relationship with a woman.

Almost half a year after his translation he went back to Giglia and spent more time with the rest of his family. He spent a lot of time with Fabrizio and Filippo had quickly become one of his closest friends. Grateful for their acceptance of him he became more loyal to his family than ever before. He would literally die for them.

In the end Filippo and Fabrizio used him to achieve their goal, but he could not deny his own involvement in the plot that had led to him standing here and marrying Arianna. When they first told him about their plan he resisted and rebelled against them, but he gave in quickly enough.

He had always been jealous of Luciano and the hold that he seemed to have over Georgia's heart. And now he was in the same world as Georgia and Falco was sure that they were having a relationship. True, that was his own fault, but it still stung and the plan to marry Arianna seemed the perfect revenge.

If Luciano was to have Falco's true love then Falco would have his.

So now he was standing here, the dagger cold and firm in his hand, and he would have to prove his never ending loyalty to his family. This was not part of the plan nor had he wanted it to end this way but now he had no choice. He had to finish this once and for all.

And then he saw _her_. The dagger slipped out of his hand and he fell to his knees.

"Georgia," he whispered.

**All ****feedback is appreciated and most welcome. **

**Have you got any ideas for the plot, then please let me know because I don't.**


	10. AN

**A/N**

**First of all I want to apologise for not posting another chapter for so long. It took me ages to get any inspiration and I'm very busy with school. My final exams are in a few weeks and I hope I'll have the ti****me to write after that. I want to finish this story and I promise I won't abandon it like so many other stories on fanfiction.**

**Then I would like to say some things to ****readingrox101****, you have the instant messaging option disabled, so I was unable to reply to your review and message. I really hope you read this, because this is the only way I could think of to answer you.  
****Anyway, I really want to finish this story so I don't want you to take the story from here. Thank you for the offer, but I'll have to turn it down.  
****If you have suggestions or ideas I would love to hear them and work with them (don't worry, you'll be fully credited for any ideas you bring into the story).  
****About the things on my page, I copied them myself so feel free to use them. ****The more people read them the better ;)  
****I would love to read some of your stories, to see what kind of style you have and I really hope you're going to write in the Stravaganza fandom. There are not enough fanfics in this fandom, we could really use some more. Please let**** me know if you finish one or if you just want to discuss some ideas for fics or something like that.**

**And to ****kkkkkkk, ****thank you for the review and the ideas. I (finally) got some ideas of my own, but I'm going to see if I can fit them into the story. Thanks again!**

**To the rest, sorry again. And I promise that the next thing I publish will be a new chapter and not an authors note.**


	11. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9**

**Finally the new chapter, as promised. With special thanks to Fallenstar22 who was kind enough to prove read it.**

* * *

Arianna was furious, at the Di Chimici's, Falco, the entire world and, not least of all, herself.

She should have prevented all this from happening; she should have found a way to keep her husband, a way to raise her children in a whole family not a broken one, a way to protect her daughter and herself from the new scheme of the Di Chimici's.  
For years now she had lived with the consequences of Falco's decision and she was done. No longer would she helplessly watch her family being hurt and ripped apart, no further would she bow to other people's will and no one, no one would ever threaten her daughter again.

The entire ceremony was lost to her, so consumed was she by these thoughts. The priest prattled on and just a few steps away stood her enemy and soon-to-be husband. Husband, a word that should invoke only love and safety, was now a curse instead the blessing it had been so many years ago.

If only Luciano was here…

And then the realisation, sudden and fierce like a blow to the head, Luciano _was _here.  
The real one, not the fathom image of him she had seen in her head so often. A Luciano older than the one she had said goodbye to so many years ago, but still undeniably the same man.  
As handsome as before, with the sunlight that poured through the stained glass windows of the church bouncing off his glossy black hair and his dark eyes burning with anger and desperation.

She was halfway down the aisle and engulfed in his arms before she knew it. Fifteen years disappeared in a second. It felt as good as ever, like the last time they had done this had been just yesterday. For moments she just stood there, simply happy and whole for the first time in many years.  
She had never doubted that Luciano was her true love, her soul mate and the one she could always count on. And now he was here, to help her, to guide her and to love her like he had before.

A cold tingling sound broke through the haze of her bliss.

Falco, kneeling two steps behind her, had dropped the dagger that moments before had appeared in his hands. He was staring at something or someone behind her and Luciano, but she paid no attention to it.

She would keep her promise to herself; she would never ever be vulnerable or weak again. She stepped out of Luciano's embrace, to quickly for him to object, and had her hand around the fallen dagger within seconds. She moved with the graceful movements and focused raw anger of a lioness protecting her cubs. From now on she would be the hunter and no longer the hunted.  
She had killed a man before and she could do it again.

She sidestepped Falco, not because of any fear to face him but simply because he was hunching slightly forward, therefore making his chest a difficult target and leaving his back unguarded and vulnerable.

Without hesitating she rammed the knife down in his back, the dagger moving through the soft flesh with ease and lodging itself deeply in the hard bone of the spine.

For a moment the entire room seemed to freeze.

Then Falco toppled forward, the dagger still in his back, and hit the ground with a heavy thud.

Another moment of silence, and then a moan, filled with horror, from the back of the room cut through the silence like a warm knife through butter and signalled the end of the moment.

The little church was in uproar, from all sides people tried to get away, many not even knowing what was going on. Some saw the blood and yelled out in shock, others heard the cries and took them on and everyone ran in different directions. Some were convinced that Luciano had wielded the knife; others were sure it was an attack of the Nucci's and just several of them had actually seen it happen and knew the truth.

Their duchessa had done her duty; she had successfully saved her city from dominion from outside.

Bellezza was, and remained, independent and free.

* * *

While the crowd pressed backwards, Georgia fought to get to the front. She had seen Falco fall and all she wanted was to get close to him.

Next to his slumped body she dropped to her knees and pleaded for him to live, to breathe, to recover. This couldn't end this way. In her eyes he still was the helpless young boy who had begged her to take her to her world for medical treatment. The boy who afterwards had worship the ground she walked on and had been there for her, in the good times and the bad. The boy who had grown up in the handsome young man who had shown her compassion and friendship in the time no one else had and who had always truly loved her.

How blind she had been to keep longing for Luciano's love and attention, when all she ever needed had been right next to her. No wonder, he had translated again. She had never answered his love in the way he deserved and Falco had by translating, consciously or not, given Georgia exactly what she wished for. Luciano, all for herself and far away from Arianna.

In the end, what she wanted turned out to be the opposite of what she needed. For Luciano she would always come second best and she knew he silently resented her for not being Arianna. Their relationship was not a healthy one and the only thing that truly bound them was the fact neither of them knew a better alternative. All they had had was each other.

But now Georgia knew better, finally she was seeing things clear and she knew what she needed. She needed Falco, his honest love and devotion, his arms around her and his lips locked on hers.

And now he was dying; it was irony at its best.

* * *

Falco had the strangest feeling, darkness seeping in along the edges of his field of view and yet there was clarity. That clarity was focused on one thing and one thing only, the beautiful face in front of him; Georgia.

Her eyes wild and desperate, mouth open and moving with the words she was saying to him. He couldn't make out the words, but it didn't matter. The sound of her voice was enough; the sight of her beautiful eyes was all he needed.

He wanted nothing more than to gently kiss her lips, wipe away her frown and take away the tears that were gathering in her eyes. But his limbs were no longer his to command and so he wasn't able to do any of these things. All he could do was look and listen and this he did with the desperate thirst of a parched traveller arriving in an oasis.

But apart from Georgia there was also the pain.

Now Falco was no stranger to pain, he lived with it for many years as a child and had, up until now, believed he had known the worst of it. He had been wrong, he now realised. This pain was different, sharp and piercing. Both hot and cold at the same time and constantly, relentlessly, present. There was no escape from it, not even for a second.

Black was now seeping in on him from all sides, all clarity gone and lost. He could no longer see Georgia's face and this brought a new pain along.

He felt his grip loosen, though on what he was not sure. His life, his sight or his emotions, or all of them at the same time?

The pain in his back was agonising, the rest of his body surprisingly numb and he could almost feel his control of his muscles seep away.

The sounds of his surroundings were also dimming, they seemed miles away and with difficulty he could understand what they said. There were hissed threats from one side (stay away from us, don't ever come here again or else) and whispered promises from the other (don't leave me, I'll love you, stay with you, no matter what happens).

Then the voices were gone too and all he was left with was sense, the one of all his senses he most desperately wanted to go.

He wanted, needed, to see Georgia's face again, hear her voice, but instead he felt burning pain.

All of a sudden there was another sensation too, pressure in the palm of his hand. His befuddled brain had difficulty making out what it was, but after a while it registered the feeling of cloth. His hand automatically closed around it and held tight.

Then there was nothing but darkness.

* * *

**I already started on chapter 10, but I can'****t say when it will be finished. But remember: reviews make me write faster ;)  
****All feedback is, as usual, very welcome and greatly appreciated.**


	12. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10**

In Bellezza people were getting their senses back. The guards swarmed forward in a belated attempt to protect the duchessa and her family. LJ, Vicaela and Silvia ran to their mother to support her and Rodolfo was already by her side. Arianna stood a few paces away from Falco and simply stared at him with cold eyes. There was to be no mercy from her.

Luciano and Georgia were both kneeling next to Falco's body. Neither of them had a lot of medical experience, but both were aware of the fact that it couldn't take much longer. Falco was going to die and nothing would be able to save him.

Georgia was obviously in shock, rocking softly back and forward on her feet and moaning constantly. Her eyes were glazed over as if she didn't realised were she was and her arms were clutched tightly around her body.

Luciano on the other hand was much more collected, having seen equally shocking things in the short time he had spent in Talia and knew there was nothing more to be done. He had done all he could. His shirt was torn on the bottom and his hand was still folded around Falco's hand in which he had pressed the piece of fabric. He just hoped it had done its job.

Arianna tore her eyes away from the body on the floor and focused them instead on Luciano.

He was solid, strong and with clear features, unlike the ones in her fantasies whose faces had slowly blurred as the years passed by. The horror she had felt when she had realised she could no longer recall his face was indescribable. Her father had insured her that this was a normal thing and nothing to be ashamed off, but it hurt none the less.

Arianna shook her heads to clear it from these thoughts. All in the past now, she could look at her husbands face for as long as she liked. It was hers once more.

She looked around to find all the members of her family, not fully happy unless she could see with her own eyes they were all doing well.

Luciano had moved from his place next to Falco and was standing next to LJ, who was looking at Falco with a shocked expression.

Now that the two were standing shoulder to shoulder she could finally begin seeing the differences between them. Luciano and LJ, no matter how much alike, were far from identical. For years the face of her only son had haunted her and mocked her in her failure to keep her husband. It wasn't his fault, she knew that, and had tried to treat him in the same way as his sisters. Yet Arianna knew she had never fully accomplished it and still felt stabs of guilt when she looked at him. She hoped that by focusing on their differences she could now finally look at her son without seeing her husband. She owned LJ this, because for years he had lived in the knowledge that even just looking at him had hurt her. It was unfair and had caused him a lot of pain; maybe now was the time to right that error.

Apart from the difference in age, they had slightly different features and other subtle differences. It was no denying that LJ was Luciano's son, a blind man could see that, but LJ was in no way a copy of his father.

LJ's face was somewhat more defined with more sharp angles than Luciano's and were Luciano's high forehead and wide eyes had always given him a slightly naïve appearance, LJ most of the time looked serious, even when he didn't mean to. Somehow his eyes were a fraction smaller in comparison with his face and his eyebrows a bit heavier. Now that she stopped to think of it she realised that it reminded her more of Rodolfo than Luciano.

But the major difference was in the eyes. LJ's eyes were a rich chocolate brown, very dark but clearly not black. They were warm, honest and patient. Familiar and just as easy to read as when he was five years old. LJ could never keep his feelings a secret and was often teased for it by his sisters. No matter how intelligent or serious, the boy would never be cunning. He couldn't tell a lie to save his life and Arianna was happy about it. She herself had always been more straight forward than her mother had been and appreciated it in others.

Luciano's eyes on the other hand were darker, almost truly black, and were fathomless deep. Arianna loved the way she could become lost in his eyes and to look for the secrets they contained, though she never truly found them. Luciano, contrary to his fresh innocent face, was cunning, but no less warm for it. It was just that when he wanted to be, he was unreadable and often she could only guess at his feelings. This was one of the things that had made their relationship so difficult in the beginning, neither of them opening up to the other.

Her gaze shifted to the place were her daughters were standing, with their arms around each other for comfort. For all their intelligence and grown up attitudes, her children were just that; children.

She was woken from her thoughts by a hand on her shoulder. She partly turned to look at Rodolfo, who somehow managed to look both sad and happy at the same time, and knew what he was trying to say to her.

The church was still in chaos and the only person who could calm it was she. Now was not the time for happy reunions, she had a job to do.

She thanked the Goddess that there had been no other Di Chimici's present at the wedding, otherwise hell would have broken loose. It had been the only thing she had insisted on, because she refused to look vulnerable in front of Fabrizio, Filippo or Rinaldo di Chimici. The whole thing had been bad enough without having to look at their smug faces. Gaetano and Francesca, the only ones she cared for, had been too ashamed of the behaviour of their family to come. Their absence was a silent form of protest and even of it didn't help much, she appreciated the gesture.

Now she turned to face the crowd and began to give the guards commands.

* * *

Slowly but surely the church subdued and the crowd started to realise there was no immediate danger. Their duchessa gave orders in a crisp determined voice which were automatically obeyed. The guards moved to get the citizens out of the church in an organised fashion and order was finally restored. The message was spread that the duchessa would make an official announcement on what had happened the next morning and she asked the citizens of Bellezza to stay calm and go back to their houses.

Inside the church only Arianna, Luciano, their children, Rodolfo, Silvia, Georgia and Falco's corpse remained.

Arianna and Luciano only had eyes for each other and Georgia was still on the ground next to Falco.

Rodolfo looked around to the place were his grandchildren were standing; the three of them huddled together. Vicaela and Silvia were still hugging one another and LJ hovered behind them, looking unsure of what to do.

Rodolfo gestured to his wife to get them outside; they were too young to witness such things. He had never been able to protect Arianna or Luciano from such things when they were that age, he'd be damned if he let the same thing happen to his grandchildren.

While the children were shepherded to the state mandola, Rodolfo focused his attention to the spot were Georgia was still moaning under her breath.

He placed a hand on her shoulder, which went ignored or unnoticed, and gently started pulling her away from Falco.  
At first she resisted, but then quickly gave in and let herself be placed on one of the hard wooden benches. He shook off his coat and placed it over her shoulder to keep her warm and then took a small step back. Preferably he would have found her a place to lie down and would have forced her to drink something sweet or alcoholic or, even better, both, but at the moment he neither had the resources nor the time for that.  
For now it would do.

Reluctantly he turned to the last (at least for now) issue that needed to be resolved; the corpse lying a few feet away from the altar.

He knelt next to it and felt for a pulse.  
It turned out to be as he had expected it to be; non-existent.

He sighed and looked at the fist with the piece of clothing clamped into it. Rodolfo had realised as soon as he saw Luciano do it, what the boy (for Luciano would always be referred to as "the boy" in his thoughts) meant to do.

Even though there was no love lost between Rodolfo and Falco, he still hoped it had worked. Because if it had, then that would mean… No he didn't dare hope yet. First he needed to be sure.

His hand gripped the silver ring that hung on a necklace around his neck and with a few last instructions to the guards outside made his way to his palazzo.

Arianna wasn't the only one who had a job to do.

**I promise to update the next chapter as soon as possible, but it may take a few weeks for I still have to write the mayor part of it. But I do know were the plot is going now, so that should speed things up. **

**Please review and if you have ideas or suggestions for the story, please let me now. All contrabutions are welcome ;)**


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